US asked to explain scholar's allegations

LA PAZ - Bolivia asked the US government yesterday to explain a US scholar's allegation that embassy officials urged him to report on Cuban and Venezuelan activities in the leftist-run country. The Foreign Ministry said it requested that US Ambassador Philip Goldberg meet with Bolivian officials today to discuss the latest flare-up in a testy relationship between President Evo Morales's government and Washington. Bolivia's first indigenous leader, Morales is closely allied with President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and Cuba's Fidel Castro, both critics of the United States. (Reuters)

Syria

1 killed, 2 injured in car bombing

DAMASCUS - A car bomb exploded in a residential area of the Syrian capital yesterday, killing one man and injuring two, witnesses said. "We saw security officers hauling the body away," one of the witnesses said. Security officials at the scene refused to comment. Witnesses saw a mangled white car being towed away by police who cordoned off the area, which houses an Iranian school, a police station, and a main Syrian intelligence office. No further details were immediately available, but the witnesses and a Palestinian source in neighboring Lebanon said the blast was caused by a car bomb. It was not clear what the target was. (Reuters)

Canada

At least 22 charged in child porn probe

TORONTO - At least 22 people, including a minor, have been charged in what police said yesterday was one of Central Canada's biggest investigations of Internet child pornography. The investigation led to 25 search warrants being executed in 16 Ontario communities and 73 criminal charges. Charges are pending against four others. "Fair warning to pedophiles: You can run, but you can't hide," Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino said at a news conference. "Sooner or later, we will identify you, we will arrest you, and we will bring you to justice." (Reuters)